Social media has been abuzz following viral clips of Icelandic music sensation Björk playing a DJ set that featured some lesser known South African dance music. Clad in a Bottega Veneta dress ironically resembling an outfit that might match the music she played culturally, the global icon shed a light on a budding part of the local music scene.
@residentadvisor Still thinking about @bjork ♬ original sound – Resident Advisor
One of the songs included on the setlist played during her pop-up set at the 2026 Venice Biennale is a track by local artist Serokolo 7. Hailing from Ga-Sekhukhune, Limpopo, the DJ, producer, and sound system operator has been gaining widespread attention in the electronic music scene for his bold reimagining of the hyper localised genre Mapanta. Similar to Angolan Kuduro, this lesser known microgenre of South African electronic music blends traditional Bapedi music with frenetic percussion and beats that boom beyond 180bpm.
Locals familiar with the sound were quick to point it out, posting clips of Björk playing Serokolo’s track “Bonkoko Bagana” to TikTok where it quickly gained traction. Taken from Serokolo’s acclaimed debut album Maramfa Musick Pro, released on the renowned African underground label Nyege Nyege Tapes, “Bonkoko Bagana” is less Mapanta and more an experiment in Tsa Manyalo, a genre whose name translates to “wedding music.” Its high energy electronic beats and melodic guitar strings are traditionally played at Tsonga, Pedi, and Venda wedding celebrations. When we asked Serokolo 7 about what he felt about the global exposure, he replied that he was honoured and humbled.
The inclusion of the track in Björk’s set list sheds a light on the vast electronic music landscape that exists in South Africa beyond amapiano and gqom, two genres whose global popularity has homogenised the definition of South African electronica. In fact, some reports on Björk’s selection of “Bonkoko Bagana” incorrectly labeled the track as “amapiano.”
The global exposure of two genres that have been an integral part of Pedi culture unearths an entire music subculture that, even for South African locals, is still unfamiliar. Yet it’s one that has been thriving as a cultural tradition, and now through artists like Serokolo 7, as a reminder of South Africa’s never ending prowess for musical innovation.
A re bineng bohle!
